Salesmanship – Greatest Limitations are Self-Imposed

Why are so many agents unsuccessful? Could it be because of their attitude? A famous quote by Robert Francis Kennedy states: “There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why… I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?” This is a concept that directly applies to the art of prospecting. Most agents will look at the likelihood of success and come up with a dozen reasons why prospecting won’t work. Instead of giving up before you begin, why not take the shot and just try it?

There are always many reasons why a strategy may not work when you’re prospecting, but you can’t forget that it only takes one time for something to work in real estate before you make a great deal of money. Consider the example of cold calling and think about all the reasons why it might not work:

o   The phone numbers might be disconnected.

o   They may be on the Do Not Call List.

o   They may not be home.

o   They may be eating dinner.

o   They may get mad and yell at me.

o   I might not say the right thing.

o   They may not be interested.

Of course every one of these reasons why the call could fail could be right.  But if you ask yourself the right question, “What if it does work?”, you could potentially make a great deal of money. If you believe that it can happen, you’ll most likely be right. If you believe it won’t work, your attitude will come through and you’re unlikely to be successful. So, in the future, as you’re taking the shots, focus on how successful you could be if your strategy or approach works, and as Nike says, “Just Do It!” If it doesn’t work, modify or change your strategy until it does. Depositing checks from lots of closings can be a lot of fun!